The chatty cornerback met with the media Saturday moments after signing a four-year deal to rejoin the Panthers. And while his return to Carolina after a three-year stay in Minnesota is a nice story, the elephant in the room was what he said in September.

So now that they're teammates, will Munnerlyn try to patch things up with Funchess?

"I probably will," Munnerlyn said with his typical smile.

"But we're definitely going to compete against each other. I'm sure he's going to want to prove me wrong, and at the same time, I don't mind that. If I can bring the best out of you, I'm down for that. I'm sure we'll have a lot of battles."

Which certainly could get interesting come August under the hot Spartanburg sun.

"You guys know me — I'm very competitive. It was always out of fun," Munnerlyn explained, again flashing a smile.

"When it got out there like that, I was like, 'Man, no!' I was trying to call Coach (Steve) Wilks. I was like, 'Coach, I didn't mean it like that!' He was like, 'Nah, we got the message.' But like I said, it was all out of fun to me."

Ok, but they say there's a grain of truth in every joke.

"I wouldn't say that. We won the game. We were lucky to win that game," Munnerlyn replied, recalling how a penalty against wideout Kelvin Benjamin kept the Panthers from taking what would have likely been an insurmountable 17-2 lead.

"I was on a different team and I was just speaking what I felt at that time. I wouldn't say it was true, but at the same time, that's how I felt."

And as we found out during his first stay in Carolina, Munnerlyn's not shy about saying how he feels.

So, Captain, you may have some feelings to mend in the locker room, but from a media perspective, it's great to have you back.